AMD Radeon 840M vs NVIDIA L4 Comparison

The Verdict

The database comparison between the AMD Radeon 840M and the NVIDIA L4 shows two products designed for entirely different segments. The Radeon 840M is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) for portable devices, built on the Krackan Point chip with RDNA 3.5 architecture. The NVIDIA L4 is a single-slot server accelerator based on the AD104 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture. The recorded data indicates the L4 holds a percentile rank of 95 against all GPUs, while the 840M sits at the 50th percentile. For users needing a discrete accelerator with substantial memory and compute throughput, the L4 is the clear choice based on its benchmark scores and specifications. The 840M serves the role of a power-efficient IGP for mobile systems, with no dedicated benchmark scores recorded in the database.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural families and process nodes. The AMD Radeon 840M uses RDNA 3.5 architecture on a 4 nm TSMC process, part of the Navi III IGP generation for Strix Point Mobile. The NVIDIA L4 uses Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process, belonging to the Server Ada (Lxx) generation. The process node difference is minor, but the transistor counts differ dramatically. The L4 has 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, with a transistor density of 121.8M per mm². The 840M's transistor count and die size are listed as unknown in the database.

Feature sets also diverge. The Radeon 840M includes 4 ray tracing cores, while the L4 includes 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The tensor cores are absent from the 840M's specification list. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so the API compatibility is identical. The 840M is an IGP with no slot width and no power connectors, while the L4 is a single-slot card with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The L4 has no display outputs, whereas the 840M's display outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark entries for these two products. However, the NVIDIA L4 has recorded benchmark scores from Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests. The OpenCL score is 140,838, and the Vulkan score is 121,306. The average benchmark score for the L4 is 131,072. The AMD Radeon 840M has no benchmark scores listed, and its average benchmark score is recorded as zero. The wins tally shows zero for both products in head-to-head comparisons.

The L4's benchmark performance places it in the 95th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti with an average score of 131,938 and a delta of -0.7 percent, meaning the L4 is 0.7 percent behind that card. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation scores 135,218, putting it 3.1 percent ahead of the L4. The NVIDIA A10M scores 135,230, also 3.1 percent ahead. The AMD Radeon PRO W6800 scores 135,396, which is 3.2 percent ahead of the L4. These deltas indicate the L4 sits within a tight competitive band among high-end accelerators, trailing the top of that group by roughly 3 percent.

The Radeon 840M, lacking recorded benchmarks, cannot be placed relative to the L4 or any other GPU in the database. Its 50th percentile rank across all GPUs is the only performance context available.

Specification Differences

The two products differ across nearly every hardware specification field. The 840M uses a 4 nm process, while the L4 uses 5 nm. The L4 has 35,800 million transistors and a 294 mm² die, both unknown for the 840M. Clock speeds show the 840M with a base of 400 MHz and boost of 2900 MHz, while the L4 runs at a base of 795 MHz and boost of 2040 MHz. Memory configurations are fundamentally different. The 840M uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The L4 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 300.1 GB/s bandwidth and a memory clock of 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective).

Compute resources differ by a wide margin. The 840M has 256 shading units, 16 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The L4 has 7424 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Pixel rates are 23.20 GPixel/s for the 840M versus 163.2 GPixel/s for the L4. Texture rates are 46.40 GTexel/s versus 489.6 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance shows 1,484.8 GFLOPS for the 840M in both FP32 and FP16, while the L4 delivers 30.29 TFLOPS in both precision modes.

Power and form factor also separate the two. The 840M has a TDP of 15 W and is an IGP, while the L4 has a TDP of 72 W and is a single-slot card. The 840M uses PCIe 4.0 x8, the L4 uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The L4 has physical dimensions of 169 mm in length and 56 mm in height. The 840M has no listed dimensions. The L4's display outputs are none, and its power connector requirement is none with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The 840M has no suggested PSU listed. Release dates differ, with the 840M released on 2025-02-28 and the L4 on 2023-03-20. The L4 lists a predecessor of Server Ampere and successor of Server Hopper, while the 840M lists a predecessor of Navi II IGP with no successor.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher floating-point performance?

A: The NVIDIA L4 delivers 30.29 TFLOPS in FP32 and FP16, while the AMD Radeon 840M delivers 1,484.8 GFLOPS in both. The L4 is approximately 20 times higher in raw compute throughput.

Q: What memory configurations do these GPUs use?

A: The NVIDIA L4 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 300.1 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon 840M uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, meaning its memory performance depends on the host portable device.

Q: Are both GPUs suitable for the same system type?

A: No. The Radeon 840M is an IGP for portable devices with a 15 W TDP, no slot width, and display outputs dependent on the portable device. The NVIDIA L4 is a single-slot server accelerator with a 72 W TDP, no display outputs, and a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Q: How does the NVIDIA L4 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The L4's average benchmark score is 131,072. It trails the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti by 0.7 percent, the RTX 4000 Ada Generation by 3.1 percent, the A10M by 3.1 percent, and the Radeon PRO W6800 by 3.2 percent.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: The NVIDIA L4 has 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The AMD Radeon 840M has 4 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores listed.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: Both are listed as Active in the database. The Radeon 840M was released on 2025-02-28, and the NVIDIA L4 was released on 2023-03-20.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 840M wins in power efficiency and integration. Its 15 W TDP is one-fifth of the L4's 72 W TDP. It requires no power connectors and no suggested PSU, making it suitable for thin portable devices where space and thermal limits are tight. Its 4 nm process node is smaller than the L4's 5 nm node, and its boost clock of 2900 MHz exceeds the L4's 2040 MHz boost. The 840M also has display outputs, which the L4 lacks entirely. This GPU is designed for systems where the CPU and GPU share memory and the device must operate without discrete power delivery.

The NVIDIA L4 wins in every compute-oriented metric recorded in the database. Its 24 GB GDDR6 memory with 300.1 GB/s bandwidth provides dedicated high-speed storage, whereas the 840M depends on system memory. The L4 has 29 times more shading units (7424 versus 256), 15 times more TMUs (240 versus 16), and 10 times more ROPs (80 versus 8). Its pixel rate of 163.2 GPixel/s is seven times higher than the 840M's 23.20 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 489.6 GTexel/s is over ten times higher. The L4's 30.29 TFLOPS FP32 performance dwarfs the 840M's 1,484.8 GFLOPS. With 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, the L4 supports ray tracing and AI workloads that the 840M cannot match, as the latter has only 4 RT cores and no tensor cores.

The PCIe interface differs as well, with the L4 using a full x16 connection versus the 840M's x8. The L4's single-slot form factor with no display outputs indicates a server or accelerator role, while the 840M's portable-device-dependent outputs indicate a mobile client role. The L4's benchmark scores place it at the 95th percentile of all GPUs, while the 840M sits at the 50th percentile with no recorded benchmark results in the database. For users running compute-intensive tasks such as AI inference or rendering, the L4's recorded data confirms its position among high-end accelerators. For users needing basic graphics in a low-power mobile package, the 840M's specifications deliver the necessary integration without external power requirements.